2nd Gen Brake upgrades.....?

[musclecarmatt]

Hey guys...well got my camaro with all new upgraded DSE suspension and quicker steering, and new 17 inch V40's...now looking at maybe upgradeing the brakes without breaking the bank.....got to start saving some money but want to do some simple upgrades to see if i cant get her stuff alittle better........

Setup(current).....fairly new Brake booster,master cylinder and all new lines...factory calipers and size rotors,rubber brake hoses...

I am looking into....

Wilwood Master cylinder
Wilwood Steel braided brake hoses
Wilwood racing brake fluid
Adjustable Proportioning Valve
Better calipers?


Matt

[Apogee]

Are you currently coming up short on braking capacity and/or performance? Do the brake pads fade? Is the pedal mushy and/or difficult to modulate? Are you boiling your brake fluid?

The reason I'm asking is because aside from shedding some weight over a cast iron master cylinder, swapping to an aluminum unit of the same bore size should make no difference in the performance of your brakes. Similarly, running high-temp racing brake fluid does little to no good if you aren't exceeding the limits of the fluid you're currently running (presumably DOT3/4 stuff?). Running better brake fluid than you need is somewhat analogous to racing race gas in a street engine...sure, it'll run on it, but running race gas doesn't give your normal engine super-powers, it just costs more. The stainless steel hoses should reduce the overall compliance of the system and improve your pedal feel, but I'd pass on everything else and save for some performance brakes in the future if/when you begin to push your current setup beyond what can be accommodated with pad and possibly fluid changes. You've got 17" wheels, so bigger brake rotors in the future would be a solid option for you.

You can shed some weight with aftermarket aluminum calipers, it just depends on what your goals are for the car and how much you're willing to spend for minor improvements. The OE brakes can be pushed pretty hard, especially with good pads and cooling ducts.

Tobin
KORE3

[musclecarmatt]

Are you currently coming up short on braking capacity and/or performance? Do the brake pads fade? Is the pedal mushy and/or difficult to modulate? Are you boiling your brake fluid?

The reason I'm asking is because aside from shedding some weight over a cast iron master cylinder, swapping to an aluminum unit of the same bore size should make no difference in the performance of your brakes. Similarly, running high-temp racing brake fluid does little to no good if you aren't exceeding the limits of the fluid you're currently running (presumably DOT3/4 stuff?). Running better brake fluid than you need is somewhat analogous to racing race gas in a street engine...sure, it'll run on it, but running race gas doesn't give your normal engine super-powers, it just costs more. The stainless steel hoses should reduce the overall compliance of the system and improve your pedal feel, but I'd pass on everything else and save for some performance brakes in the future if/when you begin to push your current setup beyond what can be accommodated with pad and possibly fluid changes. You've got 17" wheels, so bigger brake rotors in the future would be a solid option for you.

You can shed some weight with aftermarket aluminum calipers, it just depends on what your goals are for the car and how much you're willing to spend for minor improvements. The OE brakes can be pushed pretty hard, especially with good pads and cooling ducts.

Tobin
KORE3

my car is serious street and will see autocross duty every weekend......i got stock calipers and rotors with performance proportioning valve.........whats some good pads to upgrade for autocross duty?.....

[vette427-sbc]

The master cylinder wont offer you any better braking. If you are looking to save some weight, look into a C5 vette master cylinder.
Also, depending on what wilwood brake fluid you were looking at, ATE Super Blue fluid has similar boiling points, and you can get it for less than $20 shipped.
If you are going to upgrade the actual brake components (ie: rotors and calipers) save up and get something good like the LS1/C5 setup so you only buy it once.

[Randy67]

As for light weight master cylinders, 81 Camaro/Firebirds had lightweight aluminum master with plastic reservoirs. Both disc/drum and disc/disc versions are available.

A good low cost upgrade is the the 1LE setup, pretty easy to do. Just need B-body spindles and 1LE rotors. If you are interested, pm me, I have a setup available.

[80proZ]

Going with a C5 setup on my 81.reasonable cost and i can purchase parts as money permits.Biggest cost will be the calipers.Can do the fronts with 12.8" rotors for under 5 bills .

[musclecarmatt]

thanks guys...my orignal style master is just alittle rough looking and was deciding to repaint it or just go with the cool looking wilwood cylinder.....my car be mostly serious street and autocross duty soo mite try out the factory brakes with better pads and upgrade to stainless steel brake hoses and give her a try!

[Apogee]

Most autocross events are so short, that the best brakes are the ones that work 100% stone cold...similar to good street brakes. You might try some Hawk HP+, Carbotech AX6 or something similar for pads. Both have moderately high cold bite and CoF's making them good Auto-x pads that you can still drive on the street, although they are a bit dusty and squeaky compared to alower CoF dedicated street pad. Definitely do the hoses. I'd wait to do anything with the master cylinder since that may change if/when you decide to upgrade to an aftermarket brake kit down the road.

Tobin
KORE3